← IGCSE Computer Science Paper 2

Identifiers in Pascal case (7a)

An identifier: a variable name in Pascal case. Capital letter starts each word, letters and digits only, no spaces or underscores, can't start with a digit. Not case sensitive.

Part of: IGCSE Computer Science 0478 — 7a Program Development Life Cycle — Module 21

Understanding Identifiers in Pascal case (7a) in IGCSE Computer Science Paper 2

What it does: TotalScore joins two words with no space or underscore, using a capital at the start of each word. Cambridge pseudocode ignores upper and lower case in identifiers, so both spellings are one variable. An identifier must not start with a digit. Digits are fine after the first letter, as in Place1. Meaningful names make the algorithm easier to read and understand. X tells you nothing about the data. Underscores are not used in Pascal case. Only letters and digits are allowed. Pascal case capitalises the first letter of every word so the words are easy to see: HighestMark.

Common mistakes: Identifiers must not contain underscores. In Pascal case the words are joined and each starts with a capital letter, so it should be HighScore. An identifier cannot contain a space. 'Total Marks' would be read as two separate names. It should be TotalMarks.

Class: _____________________ · Name: _____________________ · Date: _________

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This module's key terms are also in a printable crossword (Modules 17–26) and word search (Modules 1–26).

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Learning

Duo

Which identifier follows Cambridge Pascal case?

number_of_playersNumberOfPlayers

Matches

DECLARE 2ndPlayer : STRING

↓

The identifier starts with a digit. It must start with a letter, for example SecondPlayer.

Applying

Meanings

Term

NumberOfPlayers

Meaning

An identifier: a variable name in Pascal case. Capital letter starts each word, letters and digits only, no spaces or underscores, can't start with a digit. Not case sensitive.

Practice

DECLARE NumberOfPlayers : INTEGER

Testing

Gaps

DECLARE : INTEGER

Check Answer

Spots

2DECLARE PlayerScore : INTEGER

3DECLARE High_Score : INTEGER

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Quick Questions

1. Which identifier follows Cambridge Pascal case?

A. number_of_players

B. NumberOfPlayers ✓

Pascal case starts each word with a capital letter and uses no underscores.

2. Which identifier is written correctly?

A. TotalScore ✓

B. Total Score

Identifiers cannot contain spaces. Join the words and start each with a capital letter.

3. Which identifier is NOT allowed?

A. Place1

B. 1stPlace ✓

An identifier must not start with a digit. Digits are fine after the first letter, as in Place1.

4. Which identifier is the better, more meaningful name for storing a student's age?

A. StudentAge ✓

B. X

Meaningful names make the algorithm easier to read and understand. X tells you nothing about the data.

5. In Cambridge pseudocode, Countdown and CountDown refer to...

A. The same variable ✓

B. Two different variables

Identifiers are case insensitive, so only the letters matter, not their capitalisation. Avoid using both, as it is confusing.

Match the Pairs

NumberOfPlayers → A good identifier in Pascal case: a capital letter starts each word and there are no spaces or underscores

Score2 → A valid identifier that uses a digit, which is allowed because it does not come first

An identifier must not contain spaces or underscores, so each word is joined and starts with a capital letter → TotalScore

Identifiers are not case sensitive, so these two names refer to the same variable → Countdown and CountDown

DECLARE 2ndPlayer : STRING → The identifier starts with a digit. It must start with a letter, for example SecondPlayer.

DECLARE number_of_players : INTEGER → The identifier uses underscores and no capital letters. Pascal case would be NumberOfPlayers.

Key Term

NumberOfPlayers

An identifier: a variable name in Pascal case. Capital letter starts each word, letters and digits only, no spaces or underscores, can't start with a digit. Not case sensitive.

Fill in the Blanks

1. // Stores how many people are playing DECLARE NumberOfPlayers : INTEGER

Hint: Type a meaningful Pascal case identifier for the value described in the comment: capital letter at the start of each word, no spaces or underscores.

2. DECLARE Score : INTEGER Score ← 0 Score ← Score + 1

Hint: Type the variable name that was declared on the first line, to add 1 to the same variable.

3. DECLARE HighScore : INTEGER

Hint: Type the keyword that creates a new variable with an identifier and a data type.

4. DECLARE FirstName : STRING OUTPUT "Enter your first name" INPUT FirstName

Hint: Type the identifier of the variable that will store the value the user enters.

5. // Is the game finished? DECLARE GameOver : BOOLEAN

Hint: Type the data type keyword for a variable that can only hold TRUE or FALSE.

Spot the Error

Question 1

A DECLARE PlayerName : STRING

B DECLARE PlayerScore : INTEGER

C DECLARE High_Score : INTEGER

D OUTPUT PlayerName

Line C — Identifiers must not contain underscores. In Pascal case the words are joined and each starts with a capital letter, so it should be HighScore.

Question 2

A DECLARE TotalMarks : INTEGER

B TotalMarks ← 0

C Total Marks ← TotalMarks + 5

D OUTPUT TotalMarks

Line C — An identifier cannot contain a space. 'Total Marks' would be read as two separate names. It should be TotalMarks.

Question 3

A DECLARE FirstScore : INTEGER

B DECLARE 2ndScore : INTEGER

C INPUT FirstScore

D INPUT SecondScore

Line B — An identifier cannot start with a digit. Spell the number as a word, for example SecondScore.

Question 4

A DECLARE PlayerAge : INTEGER

B DECLARE favColour : STRING

C INPUT PlayerAge

D INPUT FavColour

Line B — Pascal case starts every word with a capital letter, including the first. It should be FavColour, not favColour.

Question 5

A DECLARE Price : REAL

B DECLARE Quantity : INTEGER

C DECLARE x : REAL

D TotalCost ← Price * Quantity

Line C — Identifiers should be meaningful. The single letter x does not say what the variable stores. It should be TotalCost, which matches the calculation on the next line.

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